A number of Baltimore football fans and Internet "experts" are blaming the big contract of quarterback Joe Flacco on the team's problems in the free-agent market this off-season, especially considering how the Ravens have lost a number of key players since winning the Super Bowl in February.

But a number of people associated with the Ravens have said several times that this just isn't the case-- and Torrey Smith is the latest to do so.

ESPN.com reported that Smith, talking on NFL Network on Monday, backed up his quarterback in a big way. Flacco signed a six-year, $120.6 million contract, the biggest in NFL history, and many assumed that meant the team didn't have enough cash for others. Not the case, according to Smith.

"All you see is that one person got paid, you don’t know how it works or how the money is spread out," Smith told the NFL Network on Monday and reported by ESPN.com today. "All you know is that he has been paid so you just assume all these guys who have been let go is because of Joe, which is unfair to Joe. That is not the case at all. He has a very salary-cap friendly deal, at least for this year. So it was clearly a move by the guys on top. More than anything you have to trust in Ozzie [Newsome]."

The Ravens didn't have the greatest amount of wiggle room under the cap heading into the off-season. But the Flacco deal didn't kill any of that. However, for those people still insisting it cost the Ravens, here's a question.

If the Ravens didn't re-sign Flacco and he got away, who would play quarterback?